Before we get into today’s article, a few things I need to flag first: 1 – The US side has made its provocative posture unmistakably clear, nakedly angling to ignite a larger conflict. 2 – Chinese nationals living abroad are highly likely to become targeted during escalating tensions. Stay safe and protect yourselves. 3 – Do not overestimate American rationality, and do not underestimate Trump’s unpredictability. Nobody can guarantee he won’t use a larger conflict to fuel his own ambitions.
Note: Under no circumstances should you try to analyze Trump through the lens of rational-person logic. He is a pure Alpha Male personality type — and that is precisely why, among all his people, only Pompeo has managed to remain in his orbit long-term. Even Bolton, originally a hardcore China hawk, got thrown out.
Defining trait one of the Alpha Male personality: they only want obedient, loyal dogs — not individuals with independent views.
Defining trait two: conventional logic is irrelevant. Their own judgment is the only judgment that counts. Everyone else is an idiot.
So when his re-election ambitions can’t be achieved through normal channels, he is very likely to play the “wartime president re-election” card.
And that’s exactly why, whenever we think “he’s still a head of state — surely he won’t go completely off the rails” — he is very likely to slap us in the face with his bare behavior: “Who are you to tell me how to be president?! I’ll do whatever I want!”
Stay alert. Stay alert. Stay alert.
Today’s article centers on three points: 1 – In the same adversarial environment, how did another company turn a dead hand into a winning play? 2 – Why doesn’t TikTok have Huawei’s backbone to go toe-to-toe with the Americans? 3 – What was the window of opportunity TikTok actually had — and how should it have been executed?
— 1 —
First, let’s set TikTok aside for a moment and talk about a company called Zoom.
Zoom is genuinely something of a miracle in this department. Because this company — built from scratch by a young man from Shandong named Eric Yuan — somehow became a service provider for the White House, the US Department of Defense, the National Security Agency, and the FBI. And the product it provides? Online conferencing — arguably the most sensitive service category imaginable.
In other words, right now, as you’re reading this article, America’s top brass — hawks and doves alike — are using a platform built by a Chinese-American to conduct their most sensitive discussions.
Now, Zoom’s founder Eric Yuan does hold American citizenship — though he didn’t obtain it until well into adulthood. So here we have a first-generation immigrant operating in an industry that touches the most classified military and government domains in America. By any reasonable measure, he and Zoom should have been far more dangerous in American eyes than TikTok ever was.
Think about it this way: if an alien landed tomorrow, took US citizenship, then started a business right in the middle of America’s most classified military and government sectors — would you feel comfortable with that?
And sure enough, toward the end of last year, Pelosi directly labeled Zoom a “Chinese entity” that “cannot be trusted” and ordered an investigation to be launched.
So when it came under fire — what did Zoom do?
It didn’t sit there waiting for things to get worse. It acted immediately.
They assembled a lobbying team composed of American elites to manage the situation. That team included:
- David Urban — former manager of Trump’s presidential campaign
- Josh Kallmer — former member of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS)
- Bruce Mehlman — co-founder of a lobbying firm established by President George W. Bush
Just look at that list. Those three names alone carry enough reach across their respective circles to move things substantially. And that’s before Zoom also engaged an advisory firm founded by a former US Secretary of Defense.
This is what it means to truly understand — and master — the rules of the American game:
You say I’m dirty? Fine. It doesn’t matter whether I’m actually dirty. All I have to do is get the right people on my side — the very ones making that claim.
That’s exactly what American lobbying firms do. White-glove work. And if you want to make money here, spending money to build relationships will never lead you wrong.
Not to mention, Zoom also brought in former White House National Security Advisor, Lieutenant General McMaster, as a board member.
The results spoke for themselves. With endorsements and cover secured from multiple directions, a company that had nearly been taken down stayed solidly on its throne.
Master Chi firmly believes that compared to the current wave of Chinese companies endlessly talking about “going global,” Zoom is the one that actually deserves to be studied and emulated. Because for most of us, “going global” is a slogan we perform for a domestic audience. Very few companies actually immerse themselves in a foreign political system, study how it truly works, and then lash themselves permanently to it.
— 2 —
Now back to TikTok.
If you trace the full timeline carefully, you’ll find that nearly every step TikTok took — before and after the crisis — managed to hit an American nerve in exactly the wrong way.
It started in November 2019, with the Feroza Aziz incident.
This young woman was an American beauty influencer. One day she uploaded a video touching on some topics related to China — and within a short time of posting, she was banned outright.
Here’s the thing: she wasn’t banned for discussing politics. She was banned because her content allegedly violated community guidelines. At the same time, a flood of videos on TikTok openly attacking America were left completely untouched.
That asymmetry is enormously telling. Americans are particularly sensitive about having their viewpoints suppressed. If you’re going to take a side, do it consistently — or blow the whole thing up equally for everyone. But sneaking onto someone else’s turf and selectively filtering the speech you approve of? That is both sensitive and dangerous. It’s something almost no American domestic company would dare to do.
Most American social platforms are explicitly non-political — meaning political discussion is off-limits across the board, for everyone. Pure entertainment, lifestyle, fashion, gaming. Serious topics go elsewhere. That way everyone plays by the same rules — no one gets singled out.
Think about it from the other direction: why did China ban Twitter? Because Twitter waves the banner of “free speech” while in practice doing everything possible to target Chinese people. Go look at Chinese-language Twitter today — you’ll find massive amounts of fabricated stories and deliberately malicious content targeting Chinese people. Try to post something positive, or even hint at any patriotic sentiment, and you’ll get shadowbanned or suspended almost immediately.
When a platform has obvious bad faith baked into it — what would you do with it?
Beyond that incident, there was another move TikTok made that landed very badly: when faced with concrete evidence, TikTok paid a $5.7 million fine, effectively admitting to illegally collecting data from users under 13.
So at that point, there were already two exposed vulnerabilities on the surface:
1 – Allegedly suppressing freedom of expression 2 – Allegedly collecting user data illegally
Both are fatal liabilities. And this standard applies to everyone — not just foreign companies. America’s own home-grown Facebook — fully American, zero political baggage — got dragged before Congress in 2018 over “alleged illegal data collection” and faced a prolonged investigation. A 100% American company with zero allegiance questions — and it still nearly got taken down internally. Its stock dropped from $218 to $143, wiping out nearly 35% of its market cap.
And then TikTok hammered the final nail into its own coffin during the Trump re-election campaign.
TikTok, as a platform dominated by young people, has enormous power to mobilize a generation. So in July of that year, a group of young users — purely for the laughs — organized a mass troll of Trump’s campaign rally. The concept was simple: flood the registration for tickets to his rally, then no-show en masse. (Rally tickets are generally free.)
This made Trump look absolutely humiliating on camera. Especially because he had just tweeted, visibly thrilled, about how much young people loved him.
After getting trolled like that, Trump immediately unleashed Pompeo.
Remember what Trump’s biggest headache was two years before? The Russia collusion story. Even though it turned out to be a Democratic Party fabrication, it revealed something fundamental: Americans — on either side of the aisle, and the public itself — have an extreme, visceral aversion to any foreign interference in their internal affairs and electoral process.
Even the faintest whiff of this, with zero solid evidence, and Americans will move to crush it in the cradle.
Well, after this incident, both sides knew clearly: this was no longer in the cradle. This was a teenager with massive social influence, capable of moving hundreds of thousands of people at a moment’s notice.
A million people. In American terms, that is a terrifying number.
The content itself is blameless — but carrying something that valuable makes you a target. At that moment, TikTok should have proactively aligned itself with one of the two political factions.
But that is exactly what TikTok never did.
What it did instead was search for lifelines in the business world — and that is the most time-consuming and least timely approach possible.
And so — at that point, one party in Washington was completely determined to destroy it, and the other had no interest in saving it.
Given that situation — what were the odds of TikTok surviving?
Now stack up all the charges TikTok was carrying:
1 – Allegedly suppressing freedom of expression 2 – Allegedly collecting user data illegally 3 – Allegedly influencing and manipulating elections
Three charges, combined with the US government’s urgent hunger for fresh material to push the “China Threat” narrative — and you get exactly what we saw: a direct order to divest within 45 days.
Many followers have discussed with Master Chi what TikTok could have done. Fight the Americans to the bitter end? Please. That’s a backbone only Huawei has earned. Ask yourself: to this day, has anyone heard even so much as a rumor — a solid, verified piece of damaging evidence — against Huawei? Truly none. Any accusations that exist are unverified whispers and secondhand speculation.
But if TikTok had tried to fight back, the Americans would have slammed all three charges onto the table, and TikTok’s position would have crumbled instantly.
But surrender without firing a shot and agree to a sale? That didn’t have to be the outcome either.
There was a move sitting right in front of TikTok that could have kept it alive.
— 3 —
The moment the storm first started brewing, TikTok should have proactively and decisively cut its political content section entirely. Put out a clear statement: “We are purely an entertainment platform. This kind of thing has never come up for us before — we had no experience handling it, and going forward it will not be permitted.”
No politics. No exceptions. For anyone. One standard, applied equally — the same bowl of water poured for everyone.
Sacrifice the pawn to protect the king. You’re a foreign internet company in the media space. You were never making money off political content anyway — what were you thinking holding onto it?
Instead, TikTok only offered solutions after a full crackdown had already begun. That looked both insincere and utterly reactive.
The thing about certain reputational labels is: once they’re stuck on you, they don’t come off. You either prevent them from attaching in the first place — or you wear them forever.
Why was Zoom’s approach so elegantly executed? It wasn’t just that the process was smooth — the timing was surgical.
The moment you realize someone has you in their crosshairs, don’t fantasize that playing dumb will let you slip away.
You have to shout — loudly, before they finish saying “alright boys, get him” — “WAIT. Don’t be hasty. I’m purely entertainment. Let me prove it to you.”
Because once they say “GO” — it’s too late. They’re already swinging. Stopping halfway just makes them look bad. They won’t stop.
Which is exactly why TikTok’s panic move of running to a certain entertainment investment group was a completely misguided play. Those people aren’t bruisers who can actually stop a fight. When the punches are already flying, no one can hold it back.
Think deeper: even if they had an appetite for the asset — if eating it at that moment risked getting them branded with “colluding with a foreign power,” who in their right mind would touch that?
The result: negotiations that looked warm on the surface, while TikTok had already long missed the optimal window to call in backup.
The right counter to a political attack from Washington is a Washington political network.
Either through lobbying groups, telling the Democrats: “Gentlemen, I’ve gotten myself into trouble. Trump’s side is definitely going to use me as a punching bag. Only your people can pull me out. Here’s what I’m offering: profit-sharing, advisory positions, stakes in lobbying firms — whatever arrangement works for you. You propose the restructuring plan, I’ll comply. My ambitions are modest — I’ll give you half, because the pie I can grow later will be much bigger.”
Or through lobbying groups, approaching the Republicans: “I genuinely failed to manage my content properly. It won’t happen again. But you’ve seen what we can do — a million engaged, active users. Handled well, or simply kept under good oversight, those people are enormously valuable to your upcoming elections. Tell me — what does the kind of push you need actually look like?”
“Having someone above you” is a universal cultural reality worldwide.
When you go set up operations in Southeast Asia, you pay your respects to the local warlords and power brokers. Because with their protection and backing, your operations run smoothly.
And all the more so when you’re a platform from a foreign country commanding enormous social influence?
You’ve been operating in North America all this time and you haven’t built a single high-level political relationship?
The consequence of that neglect: whichever of America’s two parties — the Donkeys or the Elephants — happened to be losing ground on your platform, the other could instantly invoke “alleged interference in domestic affairs” and crush TikTok completely. Because either party had the power to flatten it entirely.
You’re not even the dominant force on this turf — how are you going to fight the local power brokers on their own ground?
The right sequence was: pay your dues at the proper doors, lock in your identity as “the King of Entertainment” — then release equity to partner with North America’s local power players, using that alliance as your loyalty pledge for staying in the market.
At that point, nobody can come at you with “your platform is going to subvert our political system” — not when your entire feed is “This is lit!” and “Double-tap if you agree!” and “He’s so cute!” and “Flash sale discount!”
Never think your equity is too precious to give up. This is toll money. This is the price of entry. This is the cost of doing business.
Because it buys you a service that pure money cannot purchase.
Here’s a concrete example: if 30% of TikTok’s North American equity had already been held by a major West Coast media conglomerate back in 2019, would any of this have happened? PR, lobbying, brand positioning — all of it would have been handled smoothly from the start. We’re family. Why would we be at each other’s throats?
With that kind of foundation in place, you could trade 30% of your equity today for 300% growth and profit tomorrow.
Honestly, Master Chi personally thinks TikTok being targeted was a mixed outcome.
The downside is obvious: we lost a powerful player that could have dominated the overseas market.
But the upside is this: it was precisely this pioneer’s sacrifice that showed us — on the road ahead, as Chinese companies continue pushing overseas, there are paths, shortcuts, and approaches that we can and must use.
In that sense, TikTok’s case is very likely to ultimately incubate a Chinese internet giant that even America itself cannot hold back.
That giant may not exist yet. But when it’s ready to go global, it will build its bridges to North America first — before ever setting foot there. It will forge alliances with a segment of North America’s own interest groups ahead of the main advance.
And by the time this Eastern giant formally begins its expansion, there will no longer be anything in North America capable of — or willing to — resist it.
Only then will they realize: it was Trump himself, today, who tipped us off. Their interior was never a monolith.